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Escambia Academy’s defense put together a stellar second half against Patrician tonight as the No. 1 Cougars earned a 34-14 region victory at Bachelor Field.

EA led 19-14 at halftime after a first half that included two turnovers, penalties and letting go of a 13-0 lead. In the second half, the Cougars outscored PA 15-0.

Head football coach Hugh Fountain said the coaching staff challenged the defense at the break.

“We kept letting them out of the holes,” Fountain said. “We kept making mistakes to let them out of the hole, whether it was use making a penalty or a third down play.”

Fountain said the game was ugly, but the kids played hard.

“We played a great second half, and we did what we had to do,” he said. “We battle hard all the time. They’re a tough team to get prepared for.”

Fountain said there are some things that the team needs to do to get better. Those things are fixable, he added.

With the win, EA improves to 3-0 overall, and will visit Wilcox Academy next week. So far this season, the Cougars defeated then No. 1 Pike Liberal Arts in week one, and No. 2 Glenwood last week.

To open up the second half, the Cougars’ defense forced a thee-and-out and settled into the game. From there, EA’s offense added a much-needed 19-yard rushing touchdown from Bubba Nettles to pad the lead.

Late in the third quarter, the Cougars came up with a big third-down stop with a sack to kill any momentum for the Saints.

In the fourth, EA quarterback Landon Sims scampered 32 yards for a touchdown with 6:50 left, and then connected with Nettles for the 2-point conversion to put the game away.

Sims scored on a 14-yard run with 4:24 left in the first quarter; and Brady Howell had a 54-yard run to set up a 5-yard scoring play by Nettles with 1:53 left in the opening 12 minutes.

Patrician Academy’s Hardy Moody punched in a 5-yard touchdown play to get his team on the board.

Some 3 minutes later, Christian Crook danced 36 yards for a score to make it 19-7.

With a Saints fourth-down conversion, quarterback Tyler Lewis connected with Tate Boykin for a 18-yard pass to set up a 1-yard Moody touchdown with 1:28 to go in the opening half.